GLENDALE, Ariz.  The Arizona Cardinals are celebrating their 20th season in the desert by starting over. Again.

Their new head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, could not be more different than the man he replaced, Dennis Green. The Cardinals' former coach had 97 NFL victories when he arrived in 2004. He added 16 in three years before Arizona fired him.

Until this preseason, Whisenhunt had never been a head coach at any level. The former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator may be light on head coaching experience, but he's long on optimism and energy.

Perhaps that combination will spark the Cardinals' second winning record since they fled St. Louis after the 1987 season.

Last year, the team hoped a gleaming, new $455 million stadium in the fields west of Phoenix would represent a new beginning. Local fans raved about the new digs, but they looked at a 5-11 record and saw the same old Cardinals.

Now the team is asking the 45-year-old Whisenhunt to turn it around.

"I'm excited about what we can do," Whisenhunt said.

Other coaches have brought similar hopes. But neither the hopes nor the coaches seem to last very long. Whisenhunt is Arizona's eighth coach since 1987.

The Cardinals hope Whisenhunt will bring some of the secrets that have made the Steelers one of the most respected franchises in professional sports.

"I think he's going to bring a different attitude to this football team," quarterback Matt Leinart said, "an attitude that's been missing for a while. I think he's going to make us mentally tougher."

Whisenhunt solidified his reputation as a players' coach when he scrubbed a practice to take the team to the movies one day in Flagstaff. At the same time, he has not hesitated to criticize.

And with this team, there's plenty to critique.

Early on, Whisenhunt declared that every player was being evaluated, regardless of where he'd been drafted. That's how underachieving cornerback Antrel Rolle, the team's top pick in 2005, was replaced by free agent Rod Hood in the starting lineup when the Cardinals open the season at San Francisco on Sept. 10.

Whisenhunt also has taken a few pokes at Leinart, whom Green called a "gift from heaven" on draft day a year ago. Midway through camp, Whisenhunt told Leinart he needed to step up his game and concentrate on details such as footwork.

Leinart responded with a 7-of-7 performance against Houston in the second preseason game and followed that up by completing 10 of 16 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown against San Diego a week later.

"Whisenhunt has been on me, and he is continuing to be on me until I become the player he and I think I can become," Leinart said.

If Whisenhunt is to succeed here, he likely will need more growth from Leinart, who flashed star potential in passing for a club rookie-record 2,547 yards last year. With Pro Bowl receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, Leinart has two of the top targets in the NFL.

"We are starting to mesh with Matt," Boldin said. "He is starting to get familiar with the new system as well as us, and we are starting to understand what the coaches want from us. I think the more we spread the ball around, the more dangerous we are."

Whisenhunt is trying to bring balance to a team that relied heavily on the passing game a year ago. He'll need more production from running back Edgerrin James, who was a disappointment in the first year of a $30-million, four-year contract. James averaged 3.4 yards per carry a year ago, his lowest average in eight NFL seasons.

An unsettled offensive line drew part of the blame for James' poor numbers. The line remains a question mark heading into this season, with three new starters, including right tackle Levi Brown, the team's first-round pick in last April's draft. James ran out of one-back sets a year ago, but Whisenhunt has added a fullback, Terrelle Smith, to help open up holes.

The offense may need to be productive. The Cardinals' defense ranked 29th in the NFL a year ago and has shown little evidence of improvement. In the third preseason game, Arizona gave up 33 points and 506 yards to a San Diego team without LaDainian Tomlinson.

Whisenhunt is switching the Cardinals' base defense to a 3-4 from a 4-3. The strength of the unit remains playmaking strong safety Adrian Wilson, who made the Pro Bowl for the first time a year ago.

The team will miss strong side linebacker Chike Okeafor, who could be sidelined all season with a torn biceps tendon. He'll be replaced by Calvin Pace, a 2003 first-round pick who has started only six times in the last three years.

Even so, Wilson is confident the defense - and the Cardinals - will be better than they were a year ago.

"We'll be a pretty good football team," Wilson said. "Guys have tons of potential."